Local News
Former Winnipegger Rabbi Shawn Zell’s new book a reflection on loss of loved ones

By MYRON LOVE Rabbi Shawn Zell’s newest publication, “Meaningful Mourning: Reflecting on the Life and Death of a Loved One,” is a thought-provoking and comprehesive contemplation of dealing with the process of grieving. In essence, “Meaningful Mourning” is a follow up to the former Winnipegger’s earlier book, “For Those Who Grieve,” which was published three years ago.
In an earlier interview with the Jewish Post regarding “For Those Who Grieve,”, Rabbi Zell noted that “one of the greatest frustrations when it comes to a shivah house is that, all too often, the atmosphere leaves much to be desired” – with people telling jokes, catching up on gossip and generally avoiding the subject of death and dying rather than rather than “sharing words of comfort and reflection and anecdotes and recollections of the deceased.”
“For Those Who Grieve,” he continues, aims to replace “tired and worn” readings in current shivah books with his own compositions which, he hopes, will give readers “new food for thought” that may “serve as a source of comfort to the bereaved and render the atmosphere of the shivah house more meaningful.”
‘What compelled me to write Meaningful Mourning”, Rabbi Zell says, “is to offer suggestions that may help clergy as well as others are uncomfortable dealing with.”
He cites, as an example, the funeral of a mentally-handicapped individual in our community roughly 50 years ago where Rabbi Peretz Weizman officiated. The individual was hit by a bus.
“I still recall Rabbi Weizman’s well-thought out words that the deceased had a tragic life and died a tragic death.”
Rabbi Zell also spoke of a more recent funeral at which he officiated where the widow was very angry that her husband had died. “The deceased had become involved in a dispute with the city over some property. His wife was adamant that he not try to fight city hall. He persisted and died of a heart attack. I tried to focus on appreciation of his life.”
In the introduction to “Meaningful Mourning,” he notes that “rifts in families are not uncommon. But how many readings in our canon broach such subjects?” he asks.
“And,” he continues, while Judaism makes it quite clear that you should choose life over death, there are occasions when one gives up one’s life to protect others.”
“Meaningful Mourning” consists of 15 chapters, each with a specific theme and each divided into a series of two-page readings – consisting of an exposition of how each day of the week, each month of the year, every Jewish festival, can provide comfort to mourners. Each reading also consists of a relevant poem and psalm.
In the first chapter, for example – which focuses on the daily order of creation, one comment in particular caught my attention – and made me think: When someone I know died suddenly, I sometimes wonder what that individual had planned for the rest of the day, what celebrations were coming up, what trip might the deceased have been looking forward to?
I recall one fellow coming to the evening minyans at my shul to say kaddish for his brother. Then, one day, he didn’t appear. I subsequently heard that he had developed an infection and died unexpectedly. I remember thinking that he wasn’t supposed to die. He still had several months left to say kaddish.
As Zell points out in “Meaningful Mourning,” “unlike the creation process, death does not necessarily wait for the deceased to complete everything he hoped to accomplish. In many cases, death has been compared to an unfinished symphony.
“From the Jewish perspective, the Angel of Death has little, if any, regard for projects yet to be completed, plans yet to be realized and dreams yet to be fulfilled.”
Another reading speaks of the signs of the zodiac and their connections to the equivalent Jewish months. “The sign for the month of Shvat is Aquarius, the water carrier,” Zell observes. “In Judaism, water is prayed for because water is seen as a blessing. But what happens when the natural flow of water is interrupted? How do we respond when tranquil water is usurped by troubled or turbulent water i.e., death?
“In a perfect world, the mourner would find solace in believing that he enriched with happiness and joy the one who was summoned from above.”
The accompanying reading with this topic is a poem intended to bring some comfort for mourners who are overcome with remorse or regret.
In “One Small Step,” Zell riffs on the immortal words of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon. “Little did Neil Armstrong realize that he was echoing the words of many a religious leader counselling a bereaved individual,” the rabbi comments. “Mourning that is proper and effective is a process of small steps and giant leaps.”
A leap of faith is necessary for several reasons, Zell adds, most of all so that the mourner is not consumed by pangs of guilt for not having been a better child, sibling or spouse. He quotes Ecclesiastes in saying that “when the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest.”
“I hope that the readings in this book help to lessen the pain for the bereaved,” he writes.
Zell, who was formerly the spiritual leader of Congregation Tiferet Israel in Dallas, grew up in Winnipeg. The son of the late Ida and Phil Zell was initially ordained as a Conservative rabbi in the mid-1980s. He served in pulpits in that capacity in Sioux City, Iowa, and Clark, New Jersey. In 2004-2006 – while between congregations, he received his Orthodox smicha. He currently lives in retirement in New Jersey..
“Meaningful Mourning” is his fourth book – and his third focusing on different aspects of death and mourning. The book was published by Scribal Scion Publishers out of Teaneck, New Jersey.
Local News
Ilana Shapera one of the leads in dancing dentists upcoming production of “Chicago”

By MYRON LOVE Dr. Ilana Shapera is looking forward to once again treading the boards – this time with a role that she can really sink her teeth into. One of three principals in Affinity Dental – the others being her husband, Igal Margolin, and her brother-in-law, Artiom Margolin – has been cast in the role of Velma Kelly in the upcoming Manitoba Dental Foundation’s production of “Chicago,” which is scheduled to run May 7-11 at the Theatre Cercle Moliere.
“Velma is a real fun character,” Shapera says. “I love her snarkiness.”
“Chicago” the nusical, notes Phil Corrin, the production’s musical director, is based on a 1926 play by the same name that was intended to expose political corruption and its interface with celebrity. Fifty years later, it was restaged as a musical.
“Chicago” is the MDF’s seventh all-dentist musical production. A new show is staged every second year.
Shapera, who previously appeared in the Foundation’s production of “Lucky Stiff” in 2017, says that she is looking forward to getting back to dancing – a passion she has had for most of her life – in her role as Veloma. She reports that she began taking dancing lessons when she was four years old. In her teen years, she studied with Shelley Shearer and participated in Gray Academy musical productions. For several years, she was a member of the Chai Folk Ensemble choir and, for the past six or seven years, she has been singing with the Prairie Voices’ Horizon Choir.
The mother of two young sons, Lev and Shai, expresses her appreciation to her husband, Igal, “for holding down the fort at home, allowing her to live out her Broadway dreams”.

Some readers may remember Phil Corrin for his 25 year career as a band teacher at Garden City Collegiate. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Major in Music Education) from Brandon University and a Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts (Conducting) from the University of Calgary. His first foray into the world of theatre was in the sixth grade when he played Huckleberry Finn in his school’s production of “Tom Sawyer.” Since then, he has been involved in nearly 80 productions as an actor, musician, director, producer, stagehand, audio technician, and music director. He has worked with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rainbow Stage, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Little Opera Company, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous high schools (including Gray Academy) throughout Winnipeg.
“Phil is happy to once again sink his teeth into the world of All-Dentist Musicals – having previously served as Associate Music Director for “Young Frankenstein” in 2015,” says Frank Hechter, currently the Manitoba Dental Foundation’s executive director (since 2018), who is also a member of the production’s organizing committee.

Hechter will be the conductor for the show and will also be a member of the ensemble. For Hechter – who began practising dentistry almost 55 years ago, appearing in “Chicago” will allow him to recreate his St. John’s high school operetta days, renew and create new friendships, challenge himself, and “move beyond his comfort zone,” he says.
A second Jewish member of the organizing committee is Bonnie Antel, the wife of Dr. Joel Antel, a former president of both the Manitoba Dental Foundation and Manitoba Dental Association and who is currently the Canadian Dental Association president. Bonnie says that while she would have loved to be in the “Chicago” cast, she isn’t a dentist. She has, however, been involved in music – both as a singer and choir leader, most of her life.
“I developed a love for music and singing in high school (Grant Park),” she recalls.
Bonnie has a Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education from University of Manitoba and recently retired from teaching music in the Pembina Trails School Division.
As with Ilana Shapera, Bonnie Antel is a Chai alumna. For many years, from the time she was 13, she was a member of the Shaarey Zedek Choir. She adds that in the 1990s, she was the choir director and conductor. Currently, she is the Yom Tov choir leader at the Simkin Centre. “Chicago” is the second Dental Foundation all-dentist musical production that she has been involved with.
“We are all really thrilled that we were able to get the rights to “Chicago” this year,” remarks Antel, who has been involved in the all-dentist musical productions since their inception.. “We do these shows every second year but there has always been another production of “Chicago” somewhere else in the province taking place.”
“Our purposes in producing musical theatre with all dentist performers has always been to create opportunities for dentists with an interest in musical theatre to come together; create opportunities for students and graduates of performing arts programs to gain experience, refine their expertise to enhance their career paths; and to raise funds to support educational and mentorship programs in the performing arts and other charitable organizations,” Hechter points out. “We appreciate the contributions of everyone who has participated in our productions.”
He reports that the net proceeds from the productions have provided funding over the years for the Manitoba Dental Foundation – as well as the Harvey Speigel Bursary in the College of Dentistry (U of M), the Theatre and Film program at the U of W, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg Studio Theatre Scholarship, the Rainbow Stage Professional Mentorship Program, the Never Alone Cancer Foundation, and Cancer Care Manitoba. The net proceeds from the production of “Chicago” will be divided evenly between Theatre Cercle Moliere and the Manitoba Dental Foundation.
Readers who may be interested in supporting the MDF and seeing the show can contact Dr. Frank J. Hechter (mdf.ed@manitobadentist.ca) or phone 204-782-8146.
Local News
Japanese author Akira Kitade recounts for Winnipeg audience role of foreign diplomats in saving Jewish lives in WWII

By MYRON LOVE One of the lesser known histories of the Holocaust was the role of various diplomats who saved thousands of Jewish lives through issuing visas to endangered Jews desperate to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. The best known of those diplomats was Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish special envoy in Budapest in 1944 who issued Swedish passports to thousands of Hungarian Jews and – with the financial support of American Jewish organizations – hid them in numerous safe houses throughout Budapest.
Sadly, he himself met a tragic fate. When the Soviets liberated Budapest in late 1944, the courageous Swede was arrested, shipped back to Russia – and never seen again.
Lesser known diplomats also pitched in to save Jewish lives. One of these Holocaust heroes was Chiune Sempo Sugihara. Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania, who provided thousands of Japanese transit visas to Jewish refugees who had fled from Poland and elsewhere in Europe to the Baltic capital city in a desperate effort to escape the clutches of the Nazis.
On Sunday, March 23, about 100 individuals, largely from the Jewish and Japanese communities, were in attendance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for a special presentation by Japanese author Akira Kitade describing Sugihara’s exploits.
The story is a central element in Kitade’s most recent book, “Emerging Heroes: World War II Era Diplomats, Jewish Refugees and escape to Japan”, which was a sequel to his previous book, “Visas of Life and the Epic Journey:How the Sugihara Survivors Reached Japan.”
The program, a joint venture between the CHHR and the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, began with remarks by Takehiko Wajima, the Japanese Consul General in Calgary. (Local immigration lawyer Ken Zaifman, Japan’s honorary consul in Winnipeg, was also in attendance.)
Belle Jarniewski, the Jewish Heritage Centre’s executive director, then set the table, so to speak, for the guest speaker. She pointed out that “the medal awarded to those recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority features the inscription – from the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5), “Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe.” Yad Vashem explains further that the quote is particularly appropriate when we think of the survivors and their many descendants and their many contributions to society. Chiune Sugihara did not save a single life – he saved thousands”.
She recounted that when the Nazis attacked Poland, some 15,000 Jews fled eastward, including to the then still independent Lithuania, which had been a centre for Jewish life since the 14th century. Caught between the Nazis and the Soviets, the Jews desperately sought ways to emigrate. After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviets in the summer of 1940, all foreign diplomats were ordered to leave by August 9.
By then, the Jews were in very dire straits and could find no safe haven. Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch consul in Kaunas at the time, agreed to stamp thousands of Jewish passports to visa-free Dutch Curacao, a Dutch colony in the Caribbean. The visas were, of course, bogus. With Europe engulfed in war, the only plausible means of escape was across the Soviet Union. For this, the refugees required transit visas showing Japan as their final destination.
As Sugihara and his family were packing their belongings, a delegation of Jews came to him with a desperate request for transit visas. They were led by Zerach Warhaftig – a Jewish refugee who, years later, was to become a minister in the government of the State of Israel. Seeing the desperation of the refugees, Sugihara began issuing the transit visas despite objections from Tokyo. Overall, he issued approximately 2140 transit visas—some of them for entire families.
The refugees rode the TransSiberian railroad across Russia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. From there, they were transferred by boat, the Hikawa Maru, to Kobe in Japan. Many of the refugees were able to move on from Kobe to the United States and other places. The remainder – about 1,000 – were eventually relocated to the foreign quarter in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, where there was an existing community of German-Jewish refugees and a small number of prosperous Jewish merchant families from India.
Akira Kitade’s interest in Sugihara and the Jewish refugees, he noted, was sparked almost 30 years ago when he heard the firsthand account from Tatsuo Osaka, his boss at the Japanese Tourist Bureau, – who captained the Hikawa Maru carrying Jewish refugees from Vladivostok to Kobe. The retired diplomat recalled that, during a visit in the late 1990s, Osaka showed him an album with photos of eight of the refugees – one man and seven women – along with words of gratitude in various languages representing the many different European countries from which they were fleeing. After Osaka’s passing on 1993, his daughter gave Kitade the album.
His initial goal, the author recalled, was to find out what became of the individuals in the album. Over the next 10 years or so, he accomplished this mission. He shared with his audience at the CMHR what he learned about each of the survivors. All of them eventually reached America ,where they enjoyed successful careers and lives. Most married and had children.
Kitade’s research into the lives of the eight survivors in the album brought into contact with many more Sugihara transit visa holders and their descendants. He noted that while there are estimates that as many as 6,000 refugees – individual and family members, were saved by the Japanese consul’s actions, his view is that the real number is about 3,000. Their descendants, he suggested, are around 50,000.
The author also spoke about three European diplomats who aided Sugihara in facilitating the further movement of the transit visa holders. The problem for the refugees once they landed in Kobe was that the visas were only good for 14 days. Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch businessman and diplomat, who was director of the Phillips factories in Lithuania and part-time acting consul of the Dutch Government in exile, provided 2,345 visas for Jewish refugees for the Dutch colony of Curacao, an island in the Caribbean.
Nicolaas Arie Johannes (Niek) de Voogd was the Dutch consul in Kobe at that time, and he also provided visas for Jewish refugees for Curacao. De Voogd returned to Japan as the Dutch ambassador in the early 1960s.
Tadeusz Romer was the Polish ambassador in Japan until the Polish embassy in Japan closed in July 1941. From August 1940 to November 1941, he otained transit visas in Japan, arranged asylum visas to Canada and other countries, immigration certificates to Palestine, and immigrant visas to the United States and some Latin American countries for 2,000 Polish-Lithuanian Jewish refugees who had arrived in Kobe. He created a ‘Polish Committee to Aid the Victims of War’ and appointed his wife, Zofia, to be president of the committee. They worked to financially support Jewish communities in Yokohama and Kobe by campaigning in Far Eastern countries for funding.
Belle Jarniewski completed the Sugihara narrative. The diplomat himself was posted to a number of different places, but in 1944 he was arrested by the Soviets along with a number of other diplomats. He was ultimately released, went to work for the Japanese Foreign Service in 1947, and held a variety of other jobs after that. Shortly before his death, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, declared Sugihara “Righteous Among the Nations” for his aid to the refugees in Lithuania during World War II. Yad Vashem conferred the title in 1984, honoring the former Japanese consul with a ceremony in Jerusalem in January 1985.
“The number of people recognized as Righteous Among the Nations – is staggeringly small when you consider the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered,” Jarniewski pointed out.. “However, the impact of the Righteous – those who mustered extraordinary courage and who acted with conscience and caring is immeasurable. Today, the global Jewish community finds itself facing a sustained resurgence of antisemitism unprecedented since the end of the Holocaust. The silence of far too many we had considered as friends and allies has been shocking. We need to see the kind of courage of conscience that Chiune Sugihara so inspiringly displayed.”
One final note. Towards the end of the program, it was noted that in the audience was Winnipegger Rochelle Zucker, whose father, Meyer, was one of the Sugihara survivors. In answer to a question as to how the Jewish refugees in Shanghai survived, she spoke of her own father’s story. As with most of the refugees, they found work. Meyer Zucker was a printer by trade and was hired by a British-owned printing company. After the war, he, like most of the others, applied to go wherever he could. He had a cousin in Calgary who was able to bring him to Calgary to work in the printing industry. In Calgary, he met his wife, Miriam Pearlman, and, in 1948, they moved to Winnipeg where Meyer and Miriam both had family. In Winnipeg, Zucker worked as a printer for the Israelite Press/Yiddishe Vort until just a couple of years before his passing n 1977.
Local News
BB Camp reverses decision to retain Jacob Brodovsky as co-director

BB Camp parts ways with co-director, who had held a variety of positions at BB Camp for the past 15 years
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted April 17) In an email just issued by BB Camp, the camp’s Board of Directors has announced that “the Board of Directors and co-Executive Director Jacob Brodovsky have amicably agreed to part ways, having regard to the best interests of the Camp and the community at large.”
There is no mention in the announcement as to the status of Brodovsky’s co-director (also his wife), Lexi Yurman.
The decision announced today constitutes a complete reversal of the Board’s earlier decision to retain Brodovsky as co-director. The Board had issued a statement on April 9 in which it said that “After conducting painstaking due diligence, the BB Camp Board of Directors unanimously voted to retain Co-Executive Director, Jacob Brodovsky, following his full apology for his serious error in judgement on social media.”
The statement by the board issued today (April 17) goes on to say that “the Camp Board expressly and unequivocally rejects and denounces the nature and content of the social media posts that were ‘liked’ (by Brodovsky) and in no way does that personal activity reflect the views of BB Camp or its Board.”
That statement refers to several social media posts which were posted by someone (or perhaps a group) that goes by the name “Rusty Robot,” which were posted in the spring of 2024, and to which Jacob Brodovsky attached his name as “liking” them.
There had been a myriad of accusations levelled against Brodovsky on social media, and one website in particular had been leading the charge to have him dismissed. That website not only ran several articles demanding that Brodovsky be fired, it allowed a slew of comments to be posted – many of which contained highly incendiary accusations against Brodovsky. (There were also a great many comments coming to his defence.)
In its announcement of Brodovsky and the camp parting ways, the Board goes into great detail about where certain areas of the camp’s operation need to be strengthened. The announcement says “Through this period, we have undertaken a careful and thoughtful review of our Camp’s policies and have taken guidance from experts in the community. While we believe strongly that the Camp has been, and will continue to be, a safe Jewish place for children, we have nonetheless identified areas where improvement is warranted, and the Board has agreed to pursue these steps to benefit the Camp.”
The announcement outlines the areas in which it is seeking to improve certain aspects of the camp experience:
- The Board has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and will incorporate it into our Code of Conduct. We believe taking this step gives formality to the Camp’s existing and unbending commitment to Jewish safety and outright rejection of any form of antisemitism or anti-Zionism. Our adoption of the IHRA definition will be posted to our website.
- We will review and update the Camp’s mission statement and core values statement to better reflect the Camp’s fundamental support of Israel.
- Employees and Board members will be required to sign the Code of Conduct, which will outline support of the IHRA definition and include confirmation that they will not publicly promote ideas that are contrary to the mission of the Camp or which are contrary to the IHRA definition.
- We will take steps to hire a Jewish Education Coordinator to develop and implement enhanced Jewish and Israeli programming at Camp.
- We will strike a community outreach sub-committee of the Board to formally engage with Israeli and other community organizations in order to repair relationships and enhance opportunities for collaboration.
- We will take steps to ensure that all Camp staff have a formal ability to communicate directly with the Board.
Yet, nowhere does the Board describe in any way how Brodovsky failed to meet any of the areas which the Board says it will seek to strengthen. It does say though that “Our campers will continue to do what they have been doing for decades: proudly sing Hatikvah daily while the Israeli flag is lowered, participate in meaningful and inclusive daily prayer services, enjoy the “Shabbat Procession” and Friday challah, and feel a connection to Israel and Judaism through our programming.”
Further, the announcement issued by the Board also says that the Board “would like to highlight we were particularly proud of what our Executive Directors initiated last year to support Israelis in need. They engaged with the community to raise funds which were used to bring young Israeli campers from destroyed communities in the Gaza envelope, along with a chaperone, to Camp for a session. This provided an incredible relief to those kids and gave our community’s kids a chance to connect with Israelis who have suffered so greatly.”
It should also be noted that the Board of the Jewish Federation issued a statement on April 14 that gave a forewarning that the BB Camp Board was coming under great pressure to part ways with Brodovsky.
The Federation statement said: “We are aware of the concerning situation regarding BB Camp.
“While BB Camp is governed by its own board of directors and operates independently — as do all of the Federation’s beneficiary agencies — we have listened closely to the concerns of community members, whose trust in the camp has been shaken. The Federation takes these concerns with the utmost seriousness. “Our Executive has already held a number of emergency meetings, and our Board will be meeting on Tuesday night to further discuss the matter. A formal statement will be shared with the community this week.” If there is a statement issued by the Federation we will provide an update to what is clearly an ongoing story. How the camp will reorganize itself this close to the opening of camp season is not explained in the announcement issued by the BB Camp Board. What it does say is that “The Board is actively working on a transition plan that ensures that Camp operates as it always has – as a safe Jewish place for campers to spend their summers, build leadership skills and create memories in an incredible wilderness environment. The Board has great confidence in our returning staff team, including our exceptionally talented Operations, Program and Wilderness Directors, each of whom held the same position last year. Camp has a culture guided by the dozens of amazing staff who commit their time and energy for the benefit of our community’s children. We are blessed to have a strong and capable staff team ready to welcome our campers this summer, and the Board will work hand in hand with them to ensure the Camp’s continued success.” |
Hats off to that hateful website which played such an instrumental role in seeing the departure of someone whom the Camp Board thanks for his “tireless efforts for the Camp over the last four years as Co-Executive Director and his dedicated service in a variety of Camp positions over the last 15 years.” If there is anything more to report on this story, we will do our best to do that here, but in past instances of administrators of Jewish organizations in Winnipeg leaving suddenly, it has consistently been the practice of neither the board involved in that person’s departure nor the person – him or herself, to say anything for public consumption that might explain their sudden departure.